• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
The Cut
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
Style
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
  • The Cut Shop
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • The State of the Uterus
  • Parenting
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • nymag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
November 9, 2016

Scenes From the End of the World

By Dayna Evans

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
Photo: Catherine Park

On the train up to 59th Street at nine last night, I began to understand we were fucked.

I didn’t intimate this to my friend, who was sitting quietly next to me, but I listened to a group of women and one man at the far end of the train talk to each other about what we all feared would happen.

“If Donald Trump gets elected,” one said. “Ooo boy.” She trailed off. The four were making jokes and smiling at each other in a familiar, nervous way. Three of the group got off the train. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” one woman shouted back before the doors closed. She paused: “Oh wait, actually I won’t. I’m off.” A normal exchange on a normal evening in a normal city, a place yet to be shaken.

It was on the walk to Trump Tower that my heart started to hurt — switching from a fast beating to a tightening — as we accidentally fell in line with a blonde woman carrying a massive American flag and spitting angrily that Clinton was “a diabolical person.” Her phone rang as we clipped behind her. “Trump has a 54 percent chance of winning the presidency,” she shouted gleefully to the person on the other line. It was 9:30 p.m. “And that’s the New York Times saying it.”

Earlier, things had felt lighter — surer. At The Wing, women socialized with each other over tables of lit candles, snacks, and drinks. At the Gizmodo Media Group offices, as the first polls began to close, people made jokes about Karl Rove over pizza. Someone offered a wager — five to one — that Clinton would lose. Only one person took it.

Throughout the night, I traveled from downtown Manhattan to the Flatiron District to Midtown to Bushwick to Williamsburg. In a taxi to Brooklyn, after watching groups of angry men outside the Hilton shouting for Hillary to be jailed, our driver, Mohammad Hoque, laughed incredulously. “Everybody votes for the people who are awful!” he said. “Who is voting for this guy!” When we got out at our next stop, he added, “There is going to be a Third World War.”

At New Women Space, a laptop sat out in a dead-silent room. Four women sat at the table watching the returns come in. The projected livestream wasn’t updating fast enough, they said. It was 10:30 p.m. The projections were overwhelmingly favoring Trump. What would these women do come tomorrow if those projections were borne out? What would their days even look like?

One woman, Faye Phillips, an employee at the Department of Education, said she’d be at work, bright and early. She wasn’t going to let the children and schools that depend on her down. Another woman had a job interview — she wasn’t sure if she should try to reschedule, given the circumstances. A third, Katie Schad, who works in advertising, said she wanted to go “on an apology tour” to say sorry to everyone about what had happened tonight.

Before grabbing our things to head to our next stop, I overheard one woman speaking to a friend. “The world,” she said, “has a greater capacity for bad than I thought possible.”

View
1 / 15 Photos
At the Gizmodo Media Group early in the night. Photo: Catherine Park
Happier times watching Jezebel and Deadspin's livestreams.  Photo: Catherine Park
Women gathering at The Wing. Photo: Catherine Park
Three Hillary supporters posted up at The Wing. Photo: Catherine Park
Hillary supporters during surer footing at The Wing. Photo: Catherine Park
On the way to Trump Tower, around 9 p.m. Photo: Catherine Park
Mark from New Jersey eats day-old chicken and explains that he is only selling Trump merch for the money. He didn't even vote. Photo: Catherine Park
One shirt that Mark was selling. Photo: Catherine Park
Outside of the Hilton, Trump's election-party headquarters. Photo: Catherine Park
Outside of the Hilton, Trump's election-party headquarters. Photo: Catherine Park
Outside of the Hilton, Trump's election-party headquarters. Photo: Catherine Park
Women gathered at New Women Space as the evening grew tense. Photo: Catherine Park
A woman reacts to Trump's electoral gains while watching at New Women Space. Photo: Catherine Park
At Cantina Royal at the end of the night, when Trump's triumph was all but guaranteed. Photo: Catherine Park
The author on the street. Photo: Catherine Park
1 / 15

Tags:

  • cut homepage lede
  • election 2016
  • new york city
  • donald trump

More Galleries

oscars 2023 Mar. 12, 2023
Oscars Red Carpet 2023: Every Look  Rihanna! Florence Pugh! Michelle Yeoh! They’re all here. 
celebrity Feb. 19, 2023
All the Best Looks From the 2023 BAFTAs Red Carpet  Florence Pugh, Barry Keoghan, and Angela Bassett brought color to the red carpet. 
grammys 2023 Feb. 5, 2023
Every Look From the 2023 Grammys Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Adele, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Mary J. Blige, Sam Smith, and more.
By Brooke LaMantia
Jan. 10, 2023
All the Looks From the 2023 Golden Globes  Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jenna Ortega, Jessica Chastain, Julia Garner, Jeremy Allen White, Angela Bassett, and more. 
parties! Sept. 23, 2022
Katie Holmes, Chloë Sevigny, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Chanel, Mejuri, and more celebrate. 
parties! Sept. 16, 2022
Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Fendi, Frame, and Coach all celebrated NYFW. 
emmys 2022 Sept. 12, 2022
Emmys 2022: All the Red Carpet Looks  Updating: What Hollywood is wearing to the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards. 
By Olivia Luppino
nyfw spring 2023 Sept. 9, 2022
Gigi Hadid, Chlöe Bailey, and More of the Bestest Party Pics of the Week  Saks Fifth Avenue, Longchamp, and more celebrate the beginning of NYFW. 
rip Sept. 9, 2022
The Queen Sure Did Love to Color-Coordinate  Monochrome for decades. 
red carpet Sept. 6, 2022
The Venice Film Festival Is a Major Fashion Event  Valentino and Gucci and Armani, oh my. 
red carpet June 5, 2022
All the Best Looks at the 2022 MTV Movie and TV Awards  Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, Jay Ellis, and more! 
parties! May 20, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Harry Styles > everyone! 
parties! May 13, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Bury me in Dove Cameron’s Saint Sintra skirt. 
parties! May 6, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Cue the Met Gala after-party FOMO. 
met gala 2022 May 2, 2022
Met Gala 2022: All the Looks [Photos]  Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Yeoh, Hailey Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Blake Lively, and more. 
parties! Apr. 29, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  This one goes to Olivia Rodrigo and her sweater vest. 
parties! Apr. 22, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  “Fuck those Zoom tops.” 
celebrity style Apr. 18, 2022
The Best Looks From Coachella 2022  From Harry Styles’s sparkling Gucci set to Megan Thee Stallion’s metallic bodysuit. 
style Apr. 13, 2022
A Look Inside the New Museum’s Spring Gala  Featuring all the best looks. 
grammys 2022 Apr. 3, 2022
Grammy Awards 2022 Red Carpet: All the Looks  Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Lenny Kravitz, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and more. 
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • About The Cut
  • About New York Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.